Cigarette-case.



E. POEPPEL.

CIGARETTE CASE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 14,1914.

1,167,]. 10, Patented Jan. 4, 1916.

UMTED s'rATES P T T D EMIL POEPPEL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AssIoNoIt'r'o AUTOMATIC MAGAZINE CIGARETTEBOX COMPANY, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION or ILLINOIS.

CIGARETTE-CASE.

Patented Jan. 4., 1916.

,Application filed December 14, 1914, Serial No. 877,044.

7 To all whom it may concern I through a delivery openingin a side wall of loaded with a Be it known that I, EMIL POEPPEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook "and State of Illinois, have'invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Cigarette-Cases, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cases. or holders for containing cigarettes or cigarsand-has for its main object to provide a simple, convenient, and easily manipulated case or holder of improved construction that will completely protect the articles from injury,

that can be conveniently carried in the the box.

The article of my invention, its mode of ,use, and the advantages inhering therein will all be readily understood when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing which illustrates a practical and preferred embodiment of the I invention, and in 'which I Figure 1 is a perspective view of the case, with the lid or covef opened and showing the relative positions of the parts when about half of the cigarettes have been withdrawn. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section substantially centrally through the body of the case. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section through the body and lid of the case and the follower-head. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view, venlarged, on the line 44 of Fig 1, but showing the follower in fully retracted and locked position to facilitate loadingof the case. Fig. 5 is a detail crosssectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a detail cross-sectional View on the line 66 of Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a perspective detail of the ejector strip or bar viewed from its inner side. Fig. 8 is apers'pech' ve detail of the ejector-actuating slide viewed from its inner side.

Referring to the drawing, 10 designates as a whole the body of the case or box which, in the preferred form here shown, is slightly curved lengthwise to easily fit the hip pocket of the user after a style now quite generally prevailing in boxes of this character. Said body is made from a single sheet-metal blank pressed into the form shown by suitable shaping and stretching dies, and comprises a bottom wall 11, flat side walls 12 and 13, rounded or convex end walls 14 and 15, and inwardly extended top walls 16 and 17, all integrally united without joint or seam of any kind. To the inner edge of the top wall 17 is hinged at 18 a lid or cover 19 that has the same curvature as the bottom wall 11 of the body. Secured by rivets 20 to, and slightly spaced'from, the inner sides of the side walls 12 and 13 are channel guide strips 21 with which are engaged the ends of a hollow U-shaped follower-head 22, as best shown in Fig. 3. The follower-head is normally urged toward the end 14: of the body under, light pressure'by means of a zig-zag spring 23, theends of the limbs of said Spring-being guided in the channel strips 21.

- It will be observed by reference to Figs. 2, 3 and 4 that the channel guide strips 21 are formed with narrow vertically opposed flanges 21 on their upper and lower edges that are slidably engaged with transverse guide flanges 22 on theends of the follower head 22, whereby said follower head is not only interlockingly engaged with the channel guides, but is prevented from canting and consequent sticking during its sliding movement.

In the upper flanges of the channel guide strips 21 are formed shortnarro'w slots 24 (Figs. 1 and 4) for a purpose hereinafter explained.

the side wall 13 of the body. slidably mounted on the partition plate is the ejector strip or bar 31 shown in isolated detail in formed a pair of integral lugs 36 by which thelatter is coupled to theejector-aotuating device hereinafter described.

In the end Wall 14 of the body of the case are formed a pair of narrow slots 37 (Fig.

1 6) and this slotted portion of said end wall is covered by theejector-actuating slide, this latter consisting of a substantially semicylindrical shell 38 of a length about equal to two-thirds the width of the case and hav ing its edges shaped to a sliding fit on the convex outer side of the end wall 14. The surface of said shell 38 is preferably formed with transverse dents or corrugations 39 to facilitate actuation of the same by the thumb or finger. An inside perspective View of this member 38 is shown in Fig. 8," from which it will be'seen that it carries on its longitudinal edges inwardly extended hooks 40 that slidably and interlockingly engage the slots 37 of the end wall 14 (Fig.

6) and also inwardly extended lugs 41 that also pass through the slots 37 and project between the lugs 36 on the back of the ejector-strip 31, thus coupling the ejector-actuating device 38 to the ejector-strip 31 through the slotted e'nd wall 14 of the case. The device 38 is returned to, and normally maintained in, the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 through the agency of a tension spring 42 (Fig. 2) that is anchored at one end to an inturned lug 43 on one end of the shell 38 and at its other end to an outwardly bent lug 44 on the end wall 14 of the case.

When the follower-head 22 is fully retracted to permit loading of the case with cigarettes, its forward edge may be tilted upwardly slightly by the thumb or finger of the operator, as shown in Fig. 4, whereby the upper forward ends 45 of the guide flanges 22 of the follower-head enter the slots 24, above referred to, and thereby lock the follower-head in fully retracted posi tion while the cigarettes or other pieces are being-loaded into the .case. When the lat ter is fully loaded, and the lid 19 is closed, small lugs 46 on the inner surface of the lid enter the slots 24 andforee out the projec-' tions 45'of the follower-head 22, whereupon the spring 23 and follower-head 22' at once become active to exert alight sidewise pressure on the row of cigarettes, the foremost of which latter lies with one end against the ejector-foot 35 and with the other end opposite the delivery opening 30. A pair of inwardly projecting apertured ears 47 on the opposite side edges of the lid 19 enter the narrow spaces or grooves between the side walls 12 and 13 and the channel guides 21 and spring into light fastening engagement with indented lugs or protuberances 48 on the side walls 12 and 13 when the lid is closed. However, by inserting the thumbnail or finger-nail beneath the forward edge 49 of the lid (which slightly overlaps the inner edge of the top' wall 16) the ears 47 are readily disengaged from'the lugs 48, and the lid can be raised and swung back. The side edges of the lid 19 are also preferably formed with narrow flanges 50 that, when the lid is closed, fit into the narrow grooves between the side-walls and channel guides, as best shown in Fig. 3, thus relieving the hinge 18 of the'lid of any side strain when the lid is closed as well as strengthening the side walls of the box transversely of the latter.

The operation of my improved cigarette case has been to a considerable extent set forth in connection with the foregoing description of its construction. With the case loaded and the lid closed, by shifting the slide 38 endwise along the end wall 14 the foremost cigarette is projectedthrough the hole 30 a sufficient distance to be readily grasped by the thumb and finger. and withdrawn. The spring 42 instantly retracts the slide 38 as soon as the latter is released, whereby the ejector is returned to a position wherein it comes into operative relation to the next cigarette of the row which has now become the foremost. are repeateduntil the last-cigarette has been withdrawn, whereupon the lid may be opened, the follower retracted to and locked in starting position, the case reloaded, and the lid again closed, thereby releasing the follower and restoring it to operative relation to the contents of the case.

The case, when closed, presents a smooth exterior surface throughout without any sharp corners, angles, edges, or projections to cut, abrade or otherwise injure the clothes of the user, and hence forms a handy and convenient pocket-piece for carrying and dispensing, without danger of injury, fragile' articles of common consumption such as cigarettes, cigars, and the like.

Obviously, modifications and changes in the minor details of construction may be made without involving any change in the substantial character and utility of the device; and hencethe inventionis not limited to the precise details of structure and arrangementdisclosed except to the extentindicated in specific claims.

I claim: I

1. In a cigarette case, the combination of a box adapted to hold a roW of Cigarettes opemng in one edge, a pair of channel. guides secured to the inner sides of the side edges, a follower head having on its ends transverse guide flanges slidably engaging said channel guides whereby to prevent canting of said follower head during its sliding movement, a spring for actuating said follower head, and an ejector operative to force the foremost cigarette of the row endwise through said opening.

2. In a cigarette case, the combination of a box adapted to hold a row of cigarettes arranged side by side and having a delivery opening in one edge, a pair of channel guides secured to the inner sides of the side edges and formed with narrow opposed vertical guide flanges ontheir upper and lower edges, a follower headhaving on its ends upper and lower transverse guide flanges slidably and interlockingly engaging the guide flanges of said channel guides whereby toprevent canting or disengagement of said follower head during its sliding movements, a spring for actuating said follower head, and an ejector operative to force the foremost cigarette of the row through 'said' opening.

3. In a cigarette case, the combination of a box body adapted to hold a row of'cigarettes arranged side-by-side'and having a. delivery opening in one side edge, a pair of slotted channel guides on the inner sides of the side edges, a spring-pressed followerhead slidably mounted at'its ends in said channel guides and formed with projections adapted to engage the slots of said guides in the retracted position of said followerhead to lock the latter against forwardmovement, a hinged lid on said body having lugs adapted, when the lid is closed, to enter said slots and release said follower-head, and an ejector o erative to force the foremost cigarette o the row endwise through said opening. A

4. In a cigarettecase, the combination of a box adapted to hold a row of cigarettes arranged side-by-side and formed with a slotted end wall and a delivery opening in one side wall adjac'entto said slotted end Wall, a slotted partition-plate mounted inwardly of and parallel with said slotted end wall, an ejector strip extending through the slot of said partition-plate and having a footcarrying portion slidably-engaging. the inner face of' said plate and a coupling 7; portion slidably engaging the outer faceof, I

said plate, an ejector-actuating shell slidably mounted on the outer side of the slotted end wall of-the box and operatively connected through the slot of said wall to the. coupling' portion of said ejector-strip, and a spring-pressed follower in said box normally urging the foremost cigarette ofthe z row against said partition plate.

" 5. In a cigarette'case, the combination of a a box adapted to hold a row ofcigarettes arranged side-by-side and formed with a slotted endwall and'a delivery opening in- I one side wall adjacent to said slotted end wall, a slotted partition-plate mounted inwardly of and parallel with saidslotted end wall, an ejector-strip having a'narrow laterally bent portion engaged with the slot of said partition-plate, a foot-carrying por-- tion engaged with the inner face of said plate, and a coupling portion engaged with theouter face of said plate, an. ejector-ac tuating shell slidably mounted on the outer side'of the slotted endwall of the box and formed on its-longitudinal edges with inturned hooks interlockingly engaging the latter through the slot thereof and with a coupling lug alsdextended through saidlast-named slot and operatively connected to the coupling portion of said ejector-strip, v a. spring within said shell normally maintaining thelatt er in retracted, position, -and a' spring-pressed follower in' said box nor-- mally urging the foremost cigarette of the row against said partition plate.

a 6. In a cigarette case, the combination of a box adapted to hold a row of cigarettes arranged side by side, and formed with a slotted end wall and a delivery opening in 'one side wall adjacent to said slotted end wall, a partition plate mounted inwardly of and parallel with said slotted end wall, anejector having a foot-carrying portion slidably engaging the inner side of said plate, a guiding portion slidingly engaging the outer portion of said plate, and an ejector actuating device disposed in positionto be operated from the'outer' side of the slotted end wall'of the box and operativelyconnected through the slot of said wall to the guiding portion of said'ejector, means forrestoring said ejector to normal position after eachactuation, and a spring-pressed 5 followerin said box for normally urging the foremost cigarette of the row against said partition plate.

Witnesses: Y

L. G. Bos'rEDo, I CHARLES T. KNIVAUCK.

EMIL POEPPEL. a 

